


always t o m o r r o w

by Cimeni



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-25 00:50:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2602487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cimeni/pseuds/Cimeni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Emma Swan doesn't want to be found, she isn't found... until an infuriating pirate remembers that she always wants him to find her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	always t o m o r r o w

He breathes her name more than he speaks it. The further she gets away, the more desperately he wants to chase after her. He wants to pull her into his arms and bury his face in her hair, all so he can relish in the warmth that is so uniquely her that he could never misplace it for someone else. He wants to hold her until she is okay, until she has calmed herself, or until she has broken down and gives him the chance to make it all better again.

But he knows, because he knows her, that isn't what she wants right now. She wants to be alone to handle what just happened. She needs time, space, and as much as that kills him, he refuses to take that away from her in her moment of need.

It is only when he's returned to the apartment, exhausted and spent, that he sinks down and holds his head. Snow's voice does little to calm the wailing infant, sobbing on the top of his lungs like he knows something is wrong with his big sister. Charming's voice does little to calm his exasperated wife, the reality of what she said hitting her like a ton of bricks.

It wasn't about what she said or how she said it. It was about the look, that fear, that would eat up the Savior.

And in an instant, he knows exactly where she is.

He finds her curled up on the wooden dock, her entire body shivering from the cold that surrounds her. He leans down to touch her head, but she recoils, just as he expected her to.

 _"Don't,"_ she hisses, fear lacing her voice. _"Don't. I can't control it."_

He doesn't speak. He doesn't give in, instead reaching out to pull her against his chest. She tenses, just as he expected she would, only to begin relaxing an inch at a time after he starts to stroke her back.

 _"There's always tomorrow, love."_ His words are the prayer that she needs to hear.

Neither of them move, because he's right; there's always tomorrow.


End file.
